Ep 214. Nature Sounds from My Porch Camp

Mary Stone shares the sights and sounds of an overnight camp on her screen porch, including a Green Frog Chorus, two Great Horned Owls, waving Tulip Trees, and a visiting Great Blue Heron.  

Thanks for tuning in!  

Related Podcasts and Posts You'll Enjoy: 

Nature Sounds from My Porch Camp- A blog post featuring Blaine Rothauser's stunning photos.

Ep 176. Revisiting Cicadas and How Gardens Glow

Cicadas Sing Back to School -Blog Post

Ep 116. Great Horned Owl meets Hawk

Great-Horned Owl meets Hawk - Blog Post 

Ep 61. A Story of Treasured Tuliptrees

Treasured Tuliptrees - Blog Post

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 I'd love to hear your stories about your garden and nature, as well as your thoughts on topics for future podcast episodes. You can email me at AskMaryStone@gmail.com.

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Mary Stone, Columnist & Garden Designer
                                          AskMaryStone.com

More about the Podcast and Column:

Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.

It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.

Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page

Transcript

Ep 214. Nature Sounds from My Porch Camp

Sun, Jul 27, 2025 9:20AM • 10:07

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Nature sounds, cicadas, porch camp, green frogs, great horned owls, blue herons, tulip trees, wildlife art, Carol Decker, garden pests, moth count, red-shouldered hawk, balance of nature, screen porch, garden dilemmas.

SPEAKERS

Mary Stone

Mary Stone  00:00

Mary stone, Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone, and welcome to garden dilemmas, delights, and discoveries. It's not only about gardens. It's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learn from Mother Nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in, in the spirit of learning from each other, we have lots to talk about. 

Mary Stone  00:26

Hello there. It's Mary stone on the screen porch, and I decided to head out here after the cicada stops singing, which is usually early evening, but they're still singing a little bit, but not terribly loud. I hope you don't mind the sound. It's kind of soothing to me the sounds of back to school, which is a month away, isn't it? Anyway, these are the annual cicadas, also known as the dog day or North American cicadas, which emerge in late summer every year, not the periodical cicada that comes out of the ground and swarms every 13 or 17 years, a fascinating behavior we discussed in Episode 176 Revisiting Cicadas and how Gardens Glow. 

Mary Stone  01:07

We had a shift in the weather to a very comfortable, low humidity, few days, not overly hot, and I've enjoyed some porch camps, which turned into this week's story I look forward to sharing involving green frogs, blue herons and great horned owls, plus my favorite tulip trees. But before that, I want to thank those who wrote back after our last chat about the gift of Carol Decker's wildlife art. Carol Decker wrote, well, my new friend, you have captured my spirit and soul perfectly. I am honored to see myself through your eyes. Thank you. So, I wrote back that the challenging part was calling down all the stories and wisdom she shared in to 20 minutes. But it was such fun to relive the glorious afternoon, and I sure look forward to the next time. So on to this week's story that starts like this.

Mary Stone  01:58

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green as I write, it's the morning after a porch camp, to my delight.  Our run of excessive heat and humidity has dampened my enthusiasm for sleeping on the futon on the screen porch In recent week. I sleep out here in the winter too, when the temperatures are above 45 degrees, although I’ve woken up to temperatures as low as 38 taken by surprise, but that's what blankets, sweatpants and sweatshirts are for. Oh, I'm hearing the green frogs start their chorus. I just love that sound, don't you? And I was lulled to sleep by them. The critters in the pond next to the porch sing, and then their friends in the overflow pond by the Johnsonburg Creek answer back. Each echoes the same number of syllables, with sounds described as a banjo being plucked, dropping a bit in volume and pitch from the beginning to the end. Gunk, gunk. Gunk is how the phonetic spelling of their sound is. But I hope you can hear the sounds in the background. 

Mary Stone  03:03

Many times, I've tried to photograph the green frogs, but as soon as they get near them, they make this funny sound and quickly jump into the pond. It sounds like a Yelp or a geek. On Lang Elliott's website, musicofnature.com, they describe it as an abrupt "eek" when the frightened individual squeaks or chirps, leaping into the water; you can hear the sounds on the musicofnature.com website. I will put a link in the show notes. I have one photograph of a green frog amongst the leaves in the pond, which I may put on the blog site. Or perhaps I'll ask my friend Blaine Rothauser If he could share one of his artful photos. Speaking of, I participated in a moth count with Blaine and my buddy Dennis Briede a few weeks ago, an experience I will soon share with you. So, back to my story. 

Mary Stone  03:54

Green frogs consume a variety of garden pests, including slugs, grubs, and mosquitoes, and I adore them, as I do all frogs and toads. The great horned owl then chimed in, hoo hoo, hoo hoo. The second and third hoots are shorter than the others. One was nearby, the other at a distance. When you hear two great owls hooting in the night, they're communicating with each other to establish their territory and warn other owls to stay away. It's also a mating call during the mating season, January to early February, here in New Jersey. I'm grateful to know that they are still living here. Last year, they nested in a dead tree just beyond the footbridge over the upper pond during an overnight storm, and the tree fell. The next morning, there was an egg cracked below the tree with a partially formed baby owl inside. It broke my heart. 

Mary Stone  04:50

Great horned owls typically mate for life and stay in their territories year-round one evening during the last call with Jolee. I turned on the flashlight while crossing the footbridge and saw the Great Owl take flight. The shadows from the lights made the owl look larger than it is, although it can be up to 25 inches in length with a 57-inch wingspan, the glow of his eyes was spectacular, yet haunting. 

Mary Stone  05:18

Only when they're young do great horned owls have predators such as foxes and coyotes, so they are considered the king of the forest among birds. Like hawks, the benefit of having owls is that they feed on small rodents that impact our gardens. They also prey on larger animals such as woodchucks, porcupines, and skunks, as well as large birds, including geese, ducks, and hawks. I shared the story titled Great Horned Owl meets Hawk in Episode 116. It didn't end well for the resident red-shouldered hawk who hunts by day. Sadly, great horned owls can also snag a cat or small dog. Although it's true, they usually hunt at night, but they occasionally can by day, so be careful about that with your beloved pets. 

Mary Stone  06:05

This morning, as the sky began to light up, I lingered on the futon, enjoying the morning croaks of the green frogs, awaiting the rising sun to illuminate my eyelids. However, the angle has shifted, and the mama Tulip tree now blocks the early morning rays. I adore that tree and her offspring to the right of the porch, I shared the story of my treasured tulip trees in Episode 61 you may want to tune into.  Tulip trees get their name from their tulip-shaped leaves and flowers. They grow 70 to 90 feet with a 30 to 50-foot spread at maturity, some grow 150 to 190 feet, making them one of the tallest native Eastern American trees. They grow about 15 to 20 feet in six to eight years. It won't take long before the baby stands as tall as its mother, which is about 40 feet now, I would say.

Mary Stone  07:01

I rose and as if on cue, a light breeze kicked in, and the lovely lime-colored leaves danced in a whirling pattern, as if to say hello, I gazed into the pond, suddenly silent of the frog chorus to find a great blue heron, motionless on a hunt. Their hearing, combined with extraordinary eyesight, makes them sensitive to disturbances. I tiptoed to the sliding glass door to retrieve my camera and was able to snag a few shots. Then, I watched him dive into the pond and resurface, to my happiness. No green frog was in his beak. Frogs plunge deeper into the water when they feel threatened. The Great Blue Heron flies off his wingspan like a kite flying above the footbridge as I stood in awe. May we all pause in gratitude and wonder at the gifts of nature that surround us and allow them to just be. Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com.

Mary Stone  08:06

 Speaking of allowing nature to be, it didn't occur to me until sitting with you now that I no longer hear the repetitive early morning squawks of the red-shouldered hawk that often woke me up when I was sleeping on the screen porch with that high-pitched Kee-ah sounds. And I do miss those sounds, you know, but indeed, the great horned owl took over the territory that was once shared by the two of them. And during that time, I would see the Red-shouldered Hawk feeding on frogs and decimating them, really, and then taking out Robin's nests and Blue Jay nests, which would upset me. However, it is a cycle of life, and there's an importance to the balance of things. Mother Nature knows what she is doing, and it is our job to let that happen, to let that be by being kind to our dear earth and to all that we share it with. So, I know you share that in common with me, because you join me each week, and I'm very grateful for that, and I appreciate all of you who share the podcast with your friends or family members so that more can join us in learning and growing in this garden of life. I know you can't hear this, but in a far distance I hear the great horned owl. I just may have to come out here again and try to get that sound so I can share it with you. Anyway. Thank you for joining me. I will see you next time on the screen porch. Have a great day. 

Mary Stone  09:35

You can follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook or online at GardenDilemmas.com and on Instagram at the hashtag Mary Elaine Stone. Garden Dilemmas, Delights and Discoveries is produced by Alex Bartling. Thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch, and always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life. Have a great day.